Having left Merryn in Sardinia we returned to London for a few days to visit family and arrived back in Ste Foy on 18th September. This gave us almost a week to settle into mountain life, explore some new walks and prepare for the arrival of a group of dear old college friends. We have done several walks up to Refuge La Martin from Tignes Les Brévières but this time we found a new route from Le Gurraz, a stunningly pretty village at the foot of Mont Pourri. A walk above the refuge takes you to to Glacier Dôme de la Sache whilst the descent gives stunning views of Mont Blanc and wonderful waterfalls.
Gill, Sarah and David were our first guests to arrive on the Friday afternoon. We lost no time in taking them for a walk up to Refuge du Ruitor from Pierre Giret. The valley views are spectacular and there were around 3000 sheep grazing below the refuge, although we were more than a little nervous as several huge ‘Patou’ guardian dogs came bounding across the valley towards us. Fortunately Jonathan produced cold beers on the terrace at the refuge – our reward for being brave.
Next day we headed up towards Val d’Isere as David has skied there many times and was keen to see it in summertime. We had a fabulous walk up the Gorge du Maupassant to Refuge du Prariond. As is frequently the case, as the valley opened out there were marmots galore making the most of abundant food and sunshine before they hibernate. Our friends were enthralled by these gorgeous creatures that they had not encountered before. The valley was full of life and we spotted distant chamois and two lammergeier circling overhead. We detoured up to the Col d’Iseran before heading back towards Val d’Isere where we were delighted to find the fromagerie at the top of the village was open and selling cheese and chilled beers that we enjoyed in the sunshine.
We headed out the next day in glorious sunshine to walk from Tignes Les Brévières to Refuge de La Martin and the glacier above. We had amazing views of Tignes and Lac de Chevril, the Sassière glacier, Mont Blanc and the Glacier Dôme de la Sache. We were blown away by the spectacular patchwork of colours on the mountainside as myrtille bushes had turned a deep red.
We returned home via La Gurraz very pleasantly tired. Helen and Rob arrived and soon perked us up and, whilst we had dinner at Le Monal, Sally and Joris also arrived. A jolly houseful of reunited college friends and partners – much reminiscing, noise and laughter!
After a triumph of organisation, the next day we all headed to the Ville des Glaciers for the beautiful walk to Col de la Seigne. The views are breathtaking especially when, arriving at the col, Mont Blanc seems almost in touching distance. Extra entertainment was provided by David who has a huge knowledge of geology and showed us all sorts of fascinating rocks and rock formations. I now have a lovely rock collection on my terrace.
Sadly, we said goodbye to Gill, Sarah and David that day but still had time for the short walk from above Ste Foy ski resort to the ancient village of Le Monal. There were more wonderful views across to Mont Pourri and lovely walks though the village and forest alongside the stream. We returned to lunch on our terrace before waving them off.
Helen, Rob, Sally and Joris remained but sadly the sun had deserted us. Sally and Joris decided on a quieter day, driving to the Col d’Iseran and then walking around the lake at Tignes Les Brévières. Meanwhile we took Helen and Rob on the same route as before up to Refuge La Martin and then down to La Gurraz. Sadly no photos as Mont Blanc was obscured by cloud. After another fun filled evening of food and wine. Helen and Rob departed the next morning.
As you can see from the pictures, Sally and Joris’ last day was cooler and overcast. We headed to Les Arcs and walked up to the beautiful tiny Chapel des Vernettes, then headed home via the stunning valley that separates Les Arcs and La Plagne.
We can’t believe it’s already October! We waved goodbye to Sally and Joris on the 2nd and have had a few days of tidying before we head back to England tomorrow. Happily the sun returned and we were able to do a few more of our favourite walks before we head into Autumn. We walked from Pierre Giret up the valley to Lac du Retour. The myrtille bushes were loaded with berries and we took time to fill our flasks on the descent – they’re now in the freezer ready to make a cheering Tarte au Myrtilles in the depths of winter. Our final walk yesterday took us up to the Cinq Lacs in the Beaufort. It was stunning and we were alone apart from six rare lammergeier circling above. What an amazing end to the summer.
